The Pelicans' situation has been unstable ever since the franchise relocated from Charlotte in 2002, and especially since Katrina. This excruciating state of limbo unfortunately defines the Pelicans. It's difficult to say where they belong.

You get the sense Ralph Sampson, if he had been designed by NASA engineers rather than a cruel god, still would have ended up as one of the great Yeah, But guys of his generation: an immensely gifted, lightly snakebitten antecedent to Vince Carter and Chris Webber.

Forgot the fact that he was a 1st rounder (sunk cost maybe), can anyone explain why he should even be in the NBA? Guys like him who can't shoot or slash have to be elite defenders, and right now he's at-most good and still a rookie).

Meliorus wrote:Forgot the fact that he was a 1st rounder (sunk cost maybe), can anyone explain why he should even be in the NBA? Guys like him who can't shoot or slash have to be elite defenders, and right now he's at-most good and still a rookie).

Is this a comment on Brown? A kid who just turned 19 & has played a total of 95 minutes?

What do you do for a living? Manufacture crystal balls?

Pay no attention to the remarks above. Or, per Ruzious: "PIF, ...the best part of your posts is your tagline."

payitforward wrote:I'm at the point where I am completely at sea about the Wizards -- how in hell does Troy Brown not play? So they can have minutes for Ron Baker, Chasson Randle & Kieff??

It's completely incomprehensible.

This! Especially since the Wiz biggest weakness is on the defensive end. He has a defensive rebounding percentage of 21.3. He is right behind Ariza in his defensive rating on the team. And he doesn't turn the ball over.

“That’s going to be up to him,” Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said Thursday night while speaking with reporters. “We have a veteran team here and we have 10 guys coming back under contract … but the opportunity is always there, and if he earns it, he’ll play. Hopefully, as the season progresses, he’ll get better and better and he’ll get some minutes.”

...

“Who knows? Minutes are there. You’ve got to earn them first, we’re not just going to give him minutes,” Coach Scott Brooks said, “but he has the skill set, he has the I.Q., he has the versatility. If things continue to progress the way we think we can, he might be able to see some time.”

“That’s going to be up to him,” Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said Thursday night while speaking with reporters. “We have a veteran team here and we have 10 guys coming back under contract … but the opportunity is always there, and if he earns it, he’ll play. Hopefully, as the season progresses, he’ll get better and better and he’ll get some minutes.”

...

“Who knows? Minutes are there. You’ve got to earn them first, we’re not just going to give him minutes,” Coach Scott Brooks said, “but he has the skill set, he has the I.Q., he has the versatility. If things continue to progress the way we think we can, he might be able to see some time.”

Scrub like Baker joins the team and gets immediately 14 minutes. **** Brooks and Grunfeld.

Well, that's from a day or so after the draft, so you wouldn't expect much different.

But, if you picked a guy @ #15, & you don't think he has earned more than 95 minutes on your crappy 13-31 team, while...

the #26 pick has played 687 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #19 pick has played 669 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #20 pick has played 437 minutes for a better team than yoursan undrafted guy has played 375 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #17 pick has played 352 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #45 pick has played 312 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #43 pick has played 254 minutes for a better team than yoursthe #23 pick has played 229 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #47 pick has played 225 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #21 pick has played 165 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #25 pick has played 123 minutes for a much better team than yoursthe #34 pick has played 107 minutes for a better team than yoursthe #49 pick has played 105 minutes for a much better team than yours

...maybe you don't know what the Hell you are doing? Huh? Especially if...

an undrafted guy has played 628 minutes for another team the #36 pick has played 481 minutes for another teamthe #22 pick has played 457 minutes for another teamthe #33 pick has played 481 minutes for another teamthe #30 pick has played 400 minutes for another teamthe #31 pick has played 356 minutes for another team

...& only one uninjured player drafted before you took your guy at #15 --ONLY ONE! -- has played less than your guy. Wouldn't that be a 100% clear body of evidence that your FO & coaching staff are completely inept?

I hate the Washington Wizards. I hate Ernie Grunfeld. I hate Scott Brooks. I hate Ted Leonsis. The entire organization is a disgrace. They make me ashamed to be a fan.

Pay no attention to the remarks above. Or, per Ruzious: "PIF, ...the best part of your posts is your tagline."

After taking that stupid jumper and giving up a 3 in the 2nd quarter @Atlanta on December 5 (they won 131-117 and he played last 1:16) he has played about 11 minutes in 9 games (he was with the Go-Go for 2 games though) + 15:21 in that blowout win vs Lakers (edit: he got that many minutes because they had just traded for Ariza but he was unavailable and the savior Baker wasn't signed). Brooks must feel good teaching young kid a lesson.

If he learns to shoot I think he has the handles and passing to move to the off guard spot, and could be like a Pacers-era Lance Stephenson with a higher BBIQ.

He looks flashy and makes some very risky passes. However, I have never seen an NBA player who gets the ball stripped from as easy as he does. I have no faith in his ability to handle the ball or create a shot. Guards in the NBA now whose primary skill is rebounding can't succeed in the league. It's not his fault for being picked its Ernie's.

Yes, Brown has had the ball stripped on several occasions. I think that's a function of him both needing to get stronger and him needing to learn that it's not easy to drive through traffic against men with the size, strength, experience and quickness of NBA players.

On the other hand, Troy has shown the ability to create his own shot off the dribble and, while some of his passes have indeed been risky, others have been excellent feeds that displayed his PG skills and high bball IQ.

Brown Jr. should have gotten much more PT this season, giving him a chance to develop. Hopefully, he'll get more PT these last 25 or so games.

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I like the kid personally. Seems like a positive, hard working and intelligent guy. That jumper tho. That's why I wasnt high on him myself. I had him as a late first rounder. It's hard to make an impact when not only do you not have a jumper, but your not an elite athlete either to compensate in other ways - which is why I preferred a guy like Zhaire Smith - even though his jumper was in development he was also an elite athlete who can compensate with a quick first step, finishing ability, rebounding ability, etc.

The summer league was a nice showing for him but it will never translate until that jump shot becomes respectable and I suspect he'll always struggle to finish around the rim as well.

Again, everything comes down to him developing that jumper. It's easier said than done. Many players never develop it. His shot doesn't look any better from his freshman year so I'm slightly bearish on his long term prospects.

He actually started well this year, but Dat is right overall. He's not super athletic & he's not super skilled.

He's smart, so I think he'll have an ok NBA career. But not much chance to become outstanding. Obviously -- as I expressed extremely vocally at the time -- Ernie took an incredibly rich draft & pissed it away. Big surprise, right?

(Who'd I say we should take @#45? Who won the dunk contest? Gee... how about that?)

Pay no attention to the remarks above. Or, per Ruzious: "PIF, ...the best part of your posts is your tagline."

payitforward wrote:After the first 3 picks NBA GMs have no demonstrable ability to rank players in order of their likely performance in the league.

I don't think this is totally true, but it's a comment more about the people doing the drafting than the process itself. Most of the people in charge of professional sports organizations are really dumb.

GimmeDat wrote:Troy was one of my favourite guys in the draft last year. Sucks to see him not even get much of a chance. How has he looked when he's hit the floor?

He's a player with a high BBIQ and is especially good in transition. Obviously, he needs to improve his shooting, but it's a good sign that he's made 36.4% of his 3's - on fairly high volume - in the G League. It's very encouraging that his assist/to ratio's are outstanding in both the NBA and G League: 4.9/1.4 in the NBA per 36 minutes and 4.3/1.4 in the G League.

"Look, you never know when you may need to borrow a cup of sugar, maybe some milk or a handgun" - Dan C. from Texas

GimmeDat wrote:Troy was one of my favourite guys in the draft last year. Sucks to see him not even get much of a chance. How has he looked when he's hit the floor?

He's a player with a high BBIQ and is especially good in transition. Obviously, he needs to improve his shooting, but it's a good sign that he's made 36.4% of his 3's - on fairly high volume - in the G League. It's very encouraging that his assist/to ratio's are outstanding in both the NBA and G League: 4.9/1.4 in the NBA per 36 minutes and 4.3/1.4 in the G League.

Tomas Satoransky with a SLIGHTLY higher ceiling... so a poor mans Ginobili.

GimmeDat wrote:Troy was one of my favourite guys in the draft last year. Sucks to see him not even get much of a chance. How has he looked when he's hit the floor?

He's a player with a high BBIQ and is especially good in transition. Obviously, he needs to improve his shooting, but it's a good sign that he's made 36.4% of his 3's - on fairly high volume - in the G League. It's very encouraging that his assist/to ratio's are outstanding in both the NBA and G League: 4.9/1.4 in the NBA per 36 minutes and 4.3/1.4 in the G League.

Tomas Satoransky with a SLIGHTLY higher ceiling... so a poor mans Ginobili.

Sato has developed a very accurate 3-point shot. He needs a lot of time to get it off so it's not really an offensive weapon, but it's good enough that defenses can't afford to leave him. Troy will need to develop that before he can be as effective as Sato. But if he does, he should be a bit better than Sato because he has the strength to hold his position against burly forwards. Sato gets destroyed in the post whenever he is switched onto a big.

Ruzious wrote:He's a player with a high BBIQ and is especially good in transition. Obviously, he needs to improve his shooting, but it's a good sign that he's made 36.4% of his 3's - on fairly high volume - in the G League. It's very encouraging that his assist/to ratio's are outstanding in both the NBA and G League: 4.9/1.4 in the NBA per 36 minutes and 4.3/1.4 in the G League.

Tomas Satoransky with a SLIGHTLY higher ceiling... so a poor mans Ginobili.

Sato has developed a very accurate 3-point shot. He needs a lot of time to get it off so it's not really an offensive weapon, but it's good enough that defenses can't afford to leave him. Troy will need to develop that before he can be as effective as Sato. But if he does, he should be a bit better than Sato because he has the strength to hold his position against burly forwards. Sato gets destroyed in the post whenever he is switched onto a big.

Agreed. Sato is a better shooter, but has a slow set shot. Brown also looks like he'll get to the line more, so his overall efficiency (TS) wont be that much worse. Brown is longer and has a bigger frame and has more upside on D.

There's a great article in today's Wall Street Journal about a $60 a year iPhone app called HomeCourt that uses some sort or other of artificial intelligence and computer vision to help players analyze and improve their shooting. It keeps a history about shot mechanics. The article talks about an 11 year old girl who uses it and now is ranked #3 in a national ranking of Class of 2025 (!!??) recruits. She tracks everything, even down to leg launch angles, etc.

With this sort of data available to seventh graders for $60 a year, is it really unreasonable to think that Brown can improve his jumper?

Surely an organization that's going to be paying one of its players $40 million a year is using this sort of analytics. Is there any reason we ever should see any NBA player with poor shot mechanics?